#492: Dignity-Affirming Music Pedagogy: Reframing Music as Relational Design in Learning Spaces

In K-12 education settings, music is often framed as an enrichment activity, overlooking its deeper role in shaping dignity-affirming learning spaces and in organizing interaction among community members. We examine music as interactional infrastructure, asking how it makes dignity observable in learning environments. Using Rhythmic Interaction Analysis (RIA), we analyze a drum circle interaction to examine how participation unfolds through rhythmic turns. We trace how vulnerability, attunement, and agency emerge as participants respond to one another, illustrating how dignity can be made visible through coordinated, embodied interaction.